Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice is a day that usually falls on December 21st on the human calendar. It is considered the shortest day of the year. Empath Stories See Winter Solstice/Songs (Empath stories) for songs that are sung by the Smurfs in this story series. In the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series, the Smurfs originally had celebrated the Winter Solstice in the same way that they currently celebrate the human holiday of Christmas: with festive decorations, singing, food, and the giving of gifts to each other. A yule log is burned every year on this day to ward away evil spirits in the village during the season. In addition, the story of the First Day, when Mother Nature and Father Time created the earth and the heavens, is recited to all the Smurfs. In the year where Papa Smurf became the sole parent and guardian of 97 little Smurflings following the period of The Plague, Timber went out into the forest to cut down a tree to celebrate the Winter Solstice when he encountered an enchanted evergreen that was actually Arboria the elf, whose sister Vini was looking after to protect. Both sisters knew the location of a legendary tree that produced golden pinecones, which attracted the attention of an evil wizard named Evil Marduk, who threatened to burn Arboria unless Timber and Vini brought him back a pile of pinecones from the tree before the day's end. Though Timber and Vini found no actual golden pinecones from the tree, Timber and Painter both dyed regular pinecones in gold paint to fool Evil Marduk into thinking he had actual golden pinecones in his grasp. With Evil Marduk safely out of the way, Papa Smurf used a potion to free Arboria from her cursed form and thus reunited the sisters. Around the time of the Winter Solstice during Empath's first visit to the Smurf Village, Empath was lost in the forest and was found injured by the mysterious Wild Smurf, who had treated him. The other Smurfs eventually found Empath in the forest on the day before the Winter Solstice, though they did not find Wild Smurf, as he had hidden himself to keep the other Smurfs from finding out about him. Around the time of a later Winter Solstice, Papa Smurf and Empath found a human boy by the name of Nicholas, who was lost in the forest, and helped him find his way back to civilization to rejoin his parents who were out looking for him. Nichloas thought that the Smurfs were little blue elves, and the particular appearance of their leader Papa Smurf had inspired him years later as a toymaker to dress in a similar manner when he delivered toys to the children of the villages every Christmas Eve. When Christmas finally became a tradition among the Smurfs, most of the Winter Solstice festivities were moved to that day, although some Smurfs still do the reciting of the First Day story on the day of the Winter Solstice. The mini-story "Sharing Dreams Of The Holidays" takes place on the day of Winter Solstice. Works That Take Place On Or Around Winter Solstice From the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf series: * "The Enchanted Evergreen" (though its framing part is set around Christmas) * "Sharing Dreams Of The Holidays" * "A Wild Winter Solstice" (though its framing part is set around Christmas) * "The Story Of The First Day" * "A Boy Named Nicholas" (though its framing part is set around Christmas) Category:Smurf customs Category:Holidays, festivals, and observances Category:Open to Community Category:Customs of other races Category:Empath the Luckiest Smurf customs Category:Annual events Category:Winter events